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I'm a firm believer in checking in with the local deity and paying
respects when I visit another country. Obviously I'll want to give a
tip o' the hat to Athena when I arrive in Athens. When I go up to the
Acropolis, is there some standard gift one offers to Athena? For that
matter, do the local gendarmerie tolerate people leaving gifts and/or
saying a few words to the god of the place? Thanks in advance.

Also if you plan any sea/ocean voyages or crossing you might want to
get into the good graces of Poseidon.
He shares this bldg with Athena and his offering location would be the
columned porch on the right in the photo.
Just don't offer him *anything* to do with olives.
Regards, Walter

Modern pagans worship illegally in Athens
January 22, 2007 - 9:45AM
In defiance of a government ban, the ancient Greek god Zeus has been the
object of pagan worship at an ancient temple in the heart of Athens. It
was first known ceremony of its kind at the 1,800-year-old temple of
Olympian Zeus since the ancient Greek religion was outlawed by the Roman
empire in the late 4th century.
Some 200 hundred people attended the ceremony organised by Ellinais, an
Athens-based group campaigning to revive ancient religion, next to the
ruins of the temple. The group defied a ban by the Culture Ministry
which had declared the central Athens site off-limits. Worshippers,
dressed in ancient costume, recited ancient hymns calling on Zeus, "King
of the Gods and the mover of things," to bring peace to the world.
"Our message is world peace and an ecological way of life in which
everyone has the right to education," said Kostas Stathopoulos, one of
three high priests overseeing the event, which celebrated the nuptials
of Zeus with Hera, the goddess of love and marriage, below the imposing
Corinthian-style columns in the city centre To the Greeks, ecological
awareness was fundamental, he said, after a priestess, with arms raised
up to the sky, called on Zeus "to bring rain to the planet".
A herald holding a metal staff, topped with two snake heads, proclaimed
the beginning of the ceremony before priests in blue and red chitons, or
robes, released two white doves, symbols of peace. A priest then poured
libations of wine and incense burned on a tiny copper tripod while a
choir of men and women chanted ancient hymns under the watchful eye of
'guards,' dressed as ancient Greek hoplites, or soldiers.
"Our hymns stress the brotherhood of man and do not single out nations,"
said priest Giorgos Alexelis.
To curious onlookers, the ceremony conjured up scenes out of a Hollywood
epic but to organisers, who follow a calendar marking time from the
first Olympiad in 776 BC, the ceremony was far more than simple
recreation.
"We are Greeks and we demand from the government the right to use our
temples, said high priestess Doreta Peppa. Ellinais, which has 34
official members - mainly middle-aged and elderly academics, lawyers and
other professionals - was founded last year. It won a court battle for
official state recognition of the ancient Greek religion and is
demanding government approval for its downtown offices to be registered
as a place of worship - a move that could allow the group to perform
weddings and other duties Ancient rituals are re-enacted every two years
at Olympia, in southern Greece, where the flame-lighting ceremony is
held for the summer and winter Olympic games - but it is not regarded as
religious and actresses pose as high priestesses.
Page 1 of 2 | Single pageChristianity rose to prominence in Greece in
the 4th century after Roman Emperor Constantine's conversion. Emperor
Theodosius wiped out the last vestige of the Olympian gods when he
abolished the Olympic Games in 394 AD Several isolated pockets of pagan
worship still lingered as late as the 9th century. "The Christians shut
down our schools and destroyed our temples," said Yiannis Panagidis, a
36-year-old accountant who attended the event The majority of Greeks are
baptised Orthodox Christian, and the church rejects ancient religious
practices as pagan. Church officials in the past have refused to attend
flame ceremonies at Olympia because Apollo, the ancient god of light, is
invoked.
Greek mythology abounds with references to the Gods as capricious
supernatural beings who regularly lapsed into fits of rage, jealousy and
bouts of promiscuity.
Unlike the monotheistic religions of Christianity, Judaism and Islam,
ancient Greek religion lacked written ethical guidelines but its Gods
were known to strike down mortals who displayed excessive pride or
"hubris" - a recurring theme in the tragedies of Euripides and other
ancient writers.
"We do not believe in dogmas and decrees, as the other religions do, we
believe in freedom of thought," Stathopoulos said Without a holy book,
the Greeks divined the will of the Gods through oracles and through the
interpretation of omens believed to have been sent by the Gods.
"The priests at the oracles were highly educated people with a grounding
in the sciences, even in foreign affairs, and offered advice, just like
meteorologist today predict the weather," Stathopoulos said.

On Mar 30, 12:27*am, Wolfgang Schwanke wrote:
wrote :
I'm a firm believer in *checking in with the local deity and paying
respects when I visit another country. Obviously I'll want to give a
tip o' the hat to Athena when I arrive inAthens.